ALBANIA HOLDS 3RD NGO YOUTH FAIR

Tirana, 08 December 2017 - The Albanian National Youth Network, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, the Municipality of Tirana and the National Agency for Civil Society, in cooperation and with the support of the Children’s Human Rights Centre of Albania – CRCA, the Albanian Coalition for Education and hosted by the Albanian National Museum, in framework of the empowerment and the support for youth NGOs in Albania, organized today the3^rd NGO Youth Fair in Albania, attended by over 60 youth organizations, groups, networks, youth political forums from all over Albania.

This Fair aims to create an open space to the youth organizations of the civil society, youth political forums, young people, youth networks and wider community throughout Albania to inform, to build bridges of collaboration between them as well as to promote cooperation agreements between local, central actors and different donors.

Despite that in the recent years youth activism has grown, yet the sustainability of the youth movement and their organisations in Albania remains fragile due to the lack of information and the access that the organizations should have to funding and technical support.

In this fair, over 60 youth NGOs met with various development agencies, public institutions and other youth in Albania to inform and share their achievements, programmes and issues of concerns. During the fair presentations and meetings will take place among donor agencies, institutions and young people with NGO representatives and volunteers.

Invited to greet this fair were Mr. Shpati Kolgega - Deputy Minister of Youth in the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, who during his speech said that the NGOs Fair is a very successful model for youth organizations and young people throughout Albania to get to know and closely associate with each other, but it is also very important and also it serves the institutions themselves to recognize and support the work of these youth organizations; Mrs. Bardhylka Kospiri - Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection, who during her speech said that is a special pleasure to be in such an activity among hundreds of young people who work and try to make this country as good as possible; Mr. Ervin Salianji - MP of the Democratic Party in the Albanian Parliament, who during his speech focused on the importance of the approval of Draft - Youth Resolution of the Albanian Assembly. In the end of his speech, Mr. Salianji said that the resolution for the youth of the Albanian Parliament should not only end with the creation of the alliance of MPs as a show grouping, but as a group that will produce more rights that will work for young people; Ms. Kejdi Mehmetaj - MP of the Socialist Movement for Integration, said that on this day that symbolizes the protest and youth revolt we should join together to fight the phenomena that hinder the life of Albanian youth. We need to work together to fight unemployment, poverty and improve the education system, so that Albania will be the place of those opportunities that young people are seeking in emigration routes; Mr. Andi Kananaj - Director of the Agency for Civil Society Protection - AMSHC, who expressed his readiness and the ASCS for the support at any moment of such successful and useful activities for Albanian Youth, such as the Youth Organizations Fair; as well asMs. Lorena Haxhiu - Director of the National Youth Service - SHKR, who said that activities such as the Youth Organization Fair need more youth and youth organizations in Albania and regarding this purpose the National Youth Service will be a partner for any activity of this nature with any Youth Organization in the country.

A special space during this Fair was dedicated to informing young people, high school students and students about the various scholarships offered by embassies in Albania, such as the United States of America, Holland, German, Austrian, Czech, French etc.

For more information, please contact: Klaudio Pulaha, Albanian National Youth Network, Cel: 067 500 20 21, E-mail: klaudio.pulaha@crca.al